Journal lubricator



MalCh l, 1960 J. .LBAYERL El' AL 2,926,971

\ JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Filed Aug. 28, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 K 1N VENTORS J. J. BAYERL ETAI- March 1, 1960 JOURNAL LUBRICATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 28, 1957 March 1, 1960 J. J. BAYERL ETAL 2,926,971

d JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Filed Aug. 28, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent O 2,926,911 JOURNAL LUBmcAToR Joseph J. Bayerl, Paterson, George H. Cooke, Passaic, and Melvin Mooney, Mountain Lakes, NJ., assignors to United States Rubber Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 28, 1957, Serial No. 680,856

18 Claims. (Cl. 308-87) This invention is a journal lubricator construction which involves in part a pumping action created by the journal.

An important object of this invention is to provide a combination pumping and wicking system for supplying oil to a bearing in suicient quantities to ensure at all times an adequate film of oil on the journal at all speed thereof.

Another object is to provide a combination of this kind which minimizes heat generation in the bearing and which operates to keep the lubricant cooler through circulation.

Still another object is to provide a lubricating structure which uses the lubricant more eiciently, which supplies it at lower temperatures, and which is so arranged as to prevent the wiping of the oil tilm from the journal as is frequently encountered in some wicking systems, while insuring a uniform lm on the journal surface.

An important object of the invention is to provide an oiling assembly for a journal which is of a unitary construction and for which means is providedto facilitate its removal from the journal box and replacement when desired.

Other and more detailed objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the embodiment thereof selected for illustration in the accompanying drawings.

In these drawings, t

Figure l is a typical vertical cross-sectional view transversely of the axis of the journal illustrating a construction in accordance with this invention; i

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1; v j

Figure 3 is a full-size enlarged (relative to Fig. 2), detail, cross-sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the lubricator assembly unit of this invention;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view thereof;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the wicking elements forming part of the unit.

, Figure 7 is a modified form of the lubricator element;

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 8--8 of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a plan view of still another modified form of lubricator element; and

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view taken onthe line 10-10 of Figure 9.

The features of novelty of this invention can be described with better etfect after setting forth in detail the structure illustrated in the drawings. It is noted first thatthe drawings happen to illustrate a journal box as sembly o f the type used on railway cars but those skilled in this art will readily appreciate that the subject matter of this invention is applicable to other fields of use especially where large journals are required.

There is shown somewhat diagrammatically a journal box 10 having a hinged door 12 provided to `facilitate 2,926,971 Patented Mar. 1, 1960 "icc access to the bearing. The wedge 14 is only4 shown diagrammatically since the railway journal art has de veloped many retinements in this part of the construction. The journal appears at 16 and passes through a sealing ring 18 mounted in the housing 10 and shown in a rather diagrammatic manner since various equivalent structures are available in the art. Generally the elements thus far described are conventional.

The novel subject matter herein disclosed includes a supporting pad 20 of suitable shape and material for the purpose which will appear later.

As is clear from Figure 1 this pad in transverse cross-` section is generally -arcuate in form and is dimensioned to rest along axial elements of the curved bottom of the housing 10. Broadly speaking, at this point, the body is made of resilient material, so as to form a resilient Secured centrally and longitudinally of the pad 20 onA the top face is a rectangular bar 22 comprising a smooth surface bearing element for the lubricator. By way of example, this block can be made of Enrup the nature of which is disclosed in several'issued patents, but a suitable method of compounding it will bedescribed below. This lubricator element 22 can be made of many materials suited to the purpose including babbitt or Oilite; gum plastics; rubber; and rubber-like materials provided they have the wear, rigidity, heat resistance and low coeiiicient of friction necessary for proper operation. The

means by'which lubricator element 22 is attached to the` top of the pad 20 is unimportant, but by wayof example in the case of Enrup and some of the other materials it may be attached by means of a cement. The top face of the element 22 is transversely curved on a radius which is slightly greater than the radius of curvature of the journal 16, as, for example, greater by 1,/32". Arranged along a longitudinal medial 4line are a series of ports 24 comprising the ends of passages extendingv through the lubricator element 22 and the pad 20. In these passages are a series of small tubes 26 which can be made of any suitable material but preferably one which is iiexible `such as a synthetic oil-resistant rubber. As shown in Figure 2, when the lubricator unit is in place in the journal box, the tubes 26 extend downwardly into the pool of oil O and terminate close to the bottom wall of the housing 10.

It will be understood that the divergance shown inl Figs. 3, 8 and 10 between element 22 and journal 16 is greatly exaggerated for purposes of illustration.

Extending under the element 22, at its longitudinal center and transversely of it, is a band 28 of any suitable material, such as a heavy woven fabric, which extends around the pad 20, see Figure l, and through apertures therein, see Figure 5, to provide the respective ends 28'l and 28b which are sewn together at S. The loop` thus formed is positioned in the housing 10 to lie along the Ibottom wall adjacent the opening at the'door 12 when the unit is in position. By means of this loop the unit can be easily extracted from the housing in an obvious manner.

Positioned on the top face of the pad 20 are a seriesof felt or equivalent wicking pads 30, three in the case illustrated, see Figure 4. The two outer pads 30 are provided with full width extensions 30a which pass around the Figure 2. All of the pads 30 have integral extensions 30b on their remaining side edges (including the two r'st mentioned), which, extend downwardly through apertures in the pad Ztlinto the oil sump.

Referring to Figure 3, it will be seen that the vertical thickness of the pads 30 is greater thanithat of the ele` ment 22 so that at the points C they make band contact withl the journal 16 longitudinally thereof. As is also clear from Figures 3 Vand 4, Vthe pads form a central opening 30 which is wider than the element 22 to provide a sm-all oil receptacle or pocket P.

Figure 6 shows in perspective the general form of the wicking pads 30. These pads include vtwo pairs of holesv 30d so that when the parts are all assembled as shown in Figure 5, an anchoring tie string 32 can be passed therethrough and knotted as at 34.

When the lubricator unit is in position, as shown in various figures, it will be resiliently held against the underface ofthe journal 16 so that the element 22 is incontact4 therewith in the region of its longitudinal center, but that element diverges from the face of the journal toward the side edge toform in cross-section wedge shaped spaces. It can be shown, as will be apparent-to those skilled in the hydrodynamic art, that the rotation of the journal 16 in either direction will cause apumping action which will draw the oil from the reservoir O upwardlywthrough thetubes 26 and deliver it to the face of the journal through the ports 24, the quantity of oil thus pumped up being proportional to the speed of rotation of the journal. In order to prime this pump, the pads 30 will conduct oil. from the reservoir by capillary action to the contact. areas C to insure the supply of a uniform film of oil on the journal surface, thus preventing the pump from becoming airbound. This action is also enhanced by the presence of oil in the pocket P. The pads 30 also aid in distributing over thefjournal surface the oil drawn through the ports 24. At -low speeds and possibly after the journal hasbeen standing for some time, so that the oil may drain out of the pocket P, the contact area C will insure the application of afilm of oil to the journal 16 and also insure starting of the pumping action as the speed builds up. The pads 30 are kept saturated with oil by reason of the-'extensions 30a and 30h submerged in the oil. As suggested above, this pumping action will occur `for elitherdirection of rotation of the journal 16. If .the journal is rotating in a clockwise direction the oil will be drawn through the ports 24 and discharged at the left side of the pocket P and vice versa for counterclockwise rotation. The pads 30, in addition'to always insuring the presence of an oil film on the journal, will also serve to prevent the excessiveaccumulation of oil on the journal or effect removal if it does accumulate.

Forernphasis, it is again noted that Vthe resilient pad V20 cooperates with the housing to urge the lubricator 22 and pads 30 against the journal.

Construction of the element 22 of Enrup is quite suitable because `it provides a smooth surfaced membery portions of 30-50%- of resin; 70-50% of copolymer andf25'50% -iiller based on the sum of resin 'and vcopoly met 9111i/- s Asuitable `composition of urethane foam yforV the pad 2,0%(7214Y chemical blown'sponge rubber can be'used.) corn-` prises. -a conventional polyurethane foam, commercially available, such as'described for' example i11"1l1dllstfial Utes.

and/.Engineering Chemistry, vol. `48, No.v 9, pages-13834, 1391 of the September 1956 issue. Briey, it is frequently prepared as a reaction product of a polyester or a polyether with a polyisocyanate into which a small amount of water is introduced. The water causes a chemical reaction, resulting'in the liberation of carbon dioxide gas (which causes foaming or expansion of the mixture), and at the same time bringing about a cure of the foarned mixture. As is well understood by thosej skilled in this art, the softness, elasticity, and other properties of the resulting foam may be varied, largely by proper selection of the kind and proportions of the starting materials.

As mentioned above, the pad 20 is desirably made of material having a lowv compression set preferably not over 10, as measured by the test described in ASTM Test Procedure Dl056 which is essentially as follows: One takes a cylinder 1" thick and 1.129" in diameter of the polyurethane foam or sponge rubber, places it in a test jig and compresses it to a thickness of'1/2,',

using two spaced parallel plates with 1/2 spacers therebetween so that it is impossible to compress the sample to less than 1/27 thick. The assembly of the jig and the thus-compressed sample is then placed in a circulating air oven for 22 hours at 158 F. The assembly is then removed and the jig is opened up while it is hot. The sample is allowed to rest while Aunconfined for 3() min- The height ofthe sample is Ithen measured. The compression set is determined by the following formula:

In the structure previously described there is a pos- Compression set:

sibility that the lubricator element 22 will rock or shift position, changing the desired balance uniformity of the curved divergent regions between the journal 16 and the lubricator element 22.; For best operation it is desir- -able that the divergence between these curved surfaceson each side of the center of contact remain equal. In the modification of Figures 7 and 8 this is accomplished; by` providing on the curved face of the lubricator element 22 a series of projections or bosses 22a which are of increasing height outwardly from the longitudinal center of the lubricator element 22, so asv to be capable of contacting the surface of the journal 16 when the lubricator'element is in place, as clearly illustrated in Figure v8. Thus` on many circumferential lines the projections 22a are ofincreasing height outwardly to act as facing elementsv between the parts.

This same principle is illustrated in Figures`9 and 1G, whereinthe curved contact face of the 4lubricator element 212 is provided with a series ofl pairs of circumferential grooves 22h, the longitudinal contours of which are such as to provide a yseries of spaced paths diverging in depth outwardly from the center of the lubricator bar. In this arrangement the line between the grooves hastheV same radius of curvature as the ratios of 'the journal 16, but the grooves are of slightly greater radius comparable to the arrangementof Figure 3, for example, to provide outwardly diverging channels.

Each of these modifications operates on the same principle and ldistinguishes from theoriginal form in that thewstructure is such as to maintain the balanced diver- In an vactual device theV difference in the ratio of curva-- ture of these two' surfaces is vsmallso that the dimensions'v of the divergingsurfaces are comparable to the thicknessof the film of 'oil' which the wicks 30apply to the generalsurface.

Itis also noted,1-as one skilled in the art willA nowyappreciatre, jthat :these divergent surfaces canv be attained` in. other' ways. Assuming,` asis necessary, that the journalf 16 is circular, divergency may be secured by making the surface of the lubricator element 22 liat on each side of its longitudinal center line with these flat surfaces being inclined inwardly to' that axis. In other words by making a very shallow trough composed of flat sides the same required divergency can be obtained in cooperation with the cylinder of the journal.

It is `also apparent that the contact surface of the lubricator bar 22 could be made convex (as distinguished from the concave fo'rrns shown) on a very large radius, thereby providing the cooperating divergent surfaces necessary for the efiicient operation of this device.

It can be shown mathematically that this device in all the various forms disclosed will work eiciently if the contact surfaces have a clearance near the longitudinal center of the lubricator bar 22, which is no greater than the thickness o'f the oil film supplied to the journal 16 through wicks 30. At the outer edges of the lubricator bar 22 the spacing between the surfaces should not exceed twice the thickness of the oil film carried on the journal.

It will also be apparent that this range of spacing can be controlled for any particular configuration of contact surface o'f the lubricator bar by changing its width. For

example, in the case of Figure 3, assuming everything else stays the same, the maximum spacing between the divergent surfaces can be made less and less by making the bar narrower or more and more by making it wider.

In view of the above description of one embodiment of this invention and as suggested at many points therein, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the subject matter of this invention is capable o'f incorporation in other physical forms using the same or different materials. It is preferred, therefore, that this disclosure not be taken in a limiting sense but that the true scope of the invention be determined by the attached claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination comprising a bearing assembly including a housing having an oil reservoir and a shaft, a resilient support below said shaft, a lubricating element on said support and held thereby in contact with said shaft, said element having apertures therethrough and tubes extending from said apertures into said reservoir, said element having a surface the longitudinal center portion of which is in contact with the surface of said shaft and the marginal portions of which diverge from said surface of said shaft, whereby ro'tation of said shaft in either direction draws oil between said element and said shaft through said tubes and said apertures.

2. In the combination of claim 1, said support comprising a shaped body of oil-resistant composition.

3. In the combination of claim 1, said element comprising a shaped bo'dy of oil-resistant composition.

4. In the combination of claim l, oil absorbent members on said support, surrounding said element and having extensions into said reservoir.

5. In the combination of claim 1, oil absorbent members on said support, surrounding said element and having extensions into said reservoir, said members surrounding said element in spaced relation to form an oil pocket.

6. In the combination of claim 1, oil absorbent members on said support, surrounding said element and having extensions into said reservoir, said members engaging said shaft.

7. In the combination of claim l, oil absorbent members on said support, surrounding said element and having extensions into said reservoir, said members being thicker than said elements whereby they contact said shaft on opposite sides of said element.

8. In the combination of claim 1, oil absorbent members o'n said support, surrounding said element and having extensions into said reservoir, said support, element, tubes and members forming a unitary structure and means attached thereto for withdrawing the unit from the housing.

9. In the combination of claim 1, said support comprising an arcuate shaped pad engaging said housing along an opposite pair of sides so as to effect said contact of said element with said shaft.

10. In the combination of claim l, the contact surface of said element being transversely curved.

11. In the combination of claim 1, the contact surface of said element being curved on a radius slightly larger than the radius of curvature of said shaft.

12. In the combination of claim 1, the contact surface of said element comprising plane surfaces slightly inclined inwardly towards said longitudinal center portion.

13. In the combination of claim 1, means on the upper surface of said element for holding that surface in spaced relation to the surface of said journal.

14. In the combination of claim l, means on the upper surface of said element for holding that surface in spaced relation to the surface of said journal, comprising a plurality of projections.

15. In the combination of claim 1, means on the upper surface of said element for holding that surface in spaced relation to the surface of said journal, comprising a plurality of grooves.

16. The combination comprising a bearing assembly including a housing having an oil reservoir and a shaft, a resilient support below said shaft, a lubricating element on said support and held thereby in cooperating relationship with said shaft, said element having apertures therethroughand tubes extending from said apertures into said reservoir, said element having a surface the longitudinal centerline of which approaches the surface of said shaft to within the thickness of a film of oil and the marginal portions of which diverge from said surface of said shaft to a distance no greater than twice the thickness of said tilm of oil, whereby rotation of said shaft in either direction draws oil between said element and said shaft through said tubes and apertures.

17. As an article of manufacture, a support comprising a pad of resilient material, a bar secured to the top face of said pad having a transversely curved outer face, said pad and bar having aligned passages, tubes lying in said passages and extending exteriorly of said pad, and oil absorbent members mounted on said pad so as to surround said bar and having integral extensions projecting exteriorly of said pad, said members being spaced from said bar to form a pocket.

18. As an article of manufacture, a support comprising a pad of resilient material, a bar secured to the top face of said pad having a transversely curved outer face, said pad and bar having aligned passages, tubes lying in said passages and extending exteriorly of said pad, oil absorbent members mounted on said pad so as to surround said bar and having integral extensions projecting exteriorly of said pad, and straps attached to said pad.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 158,765 Whitaker Jan. 12, 1875 1,964,547 Von Bergen June 26, 1934 2,742,331 Hamer Apr. 17, 1956 

